Few pics from a great day out on Sunday….lots of fun had by all – 42k by mixing the black runs in with the red…cracking.

I really miss riding around Dalby. Some great pics there.

@simonralli – it was fantastic mate,but,if any consolation,I get jealous when you post up your pics of the dusty trails where you are living !!

Yeah, but then look at all the great social rides with loads of people happening back in the UK. You can’t win really : )

(Although Roper I have to say does make a most excellent riding partner)

I used to like the old red slalom downhill bit between the trees. Don’t know if you know the bit I mean but that was great in the summer. Dalby now though is so much better in the winter months huh? At least the sandy bits were good training for my sandier routes around the beaches here.

It was the first time I had been there to be honest.What I liked about it was unlike a lot of centres where you have endless fireroad climbs,Dalby is nearly all trail linked together by very short fireroad or tarmac.What climbing there is there is all switchbacks so you gain height quite quickly.
We will definately be going back – worth the 3 1/2 hr drive to get there !

Yeah – the other thing I liked was that you could do half the red, then the black, then back on the red although they hadn’t finished everything and by the time I go to the freeride area I always got a bit confused with directions.

The old red route is still there with some tasty morsels to either discover or be shown.

Just out of interest, how much singletrack is there now? I think some plans for a huge section got shelved just as I was leaving Yorkshire.

Nice pics, was the car park as dry as the trails?

A good venue for the inaugural STW Trance owners’ meet perhaps?

That’s what we ended up doing.Started the red @ main centre carpark – ended up @ Dixons Hollow where we messed about for 30 mins or so.Picked up the black from there,this took us into some pretty natural feeling stuff (the photos of us climbing up the rocky gorged area) & then picked up the red again after the cafe about 1/2 way.There are now 36 or 38 sections I think & its nearly all singletrack !!!!! I am sure someone more well informed will be along soon to put me right about the route we took but as I said we clocked it @ 42k all in.

@chapaking – bottom carpark was like a sunday league goalmoath ! lol..
Nice idea about the Trance meet – could be a bit too Northern for some,I certainly wouldnt mind the drive back up from the Midlands though.Something like the Trance seems just enough bike for Dalby,I was flying through some of the sections,well,it felt like I was anyway !

@chapaking -also mate,those pics are the first sightings of my trance on here since I got it – just waiting on some more ££ so I can upgrade the wheels & it will be all as I want it – for now ! lol.

Aw can’t we do the trance meet in the Malverns or something?

Looks good, have you got quite a wide set of bars on it?

Did you say in another post you got it off Rob Warner? If it’s good enough for him, eh?

@chapaking – yes mate – 700mm Syncros bulk (off here) which are luuurvely.
It was Rob Warners yeah – I think he must get them off Giant as freebies as he has had a couple listed on the bay.Managed to get it for £500 brand new,unridden.He was a top bloke,met me at a service station on the M42 in his van !!!! a quality transaction ! As I said,its nearly there,just needs some wheels to replace the alex ones it came with.Theres nothing that wrong with them,just me being me !!!!

@buzz-lightyear – Malverns would be closer for me (Shropshire based) but I don’t know the area so would need a guide.

Malverns is do-able as an overnighter. About the same distance as S Wales from here I think.

Did we have any more takers?

cant remember that gully run – wheres that??

@freeform5spot – that was my fave bit.When you follow the signs for the red/black out of the Dixons hollow carpark you eventually come to this section,its real natural feeling & a real nice technical ish climb.Its part of the black run I think – can any other locals confirm ?

I thought that gulley was before Dixons Hollow. There is a pretty steep hollow/gulley that you ride down, and then you have a choice of either the technical gulley climb if you turn right at the bottom, or you have a longer but less technical climb if you ride around heading left at the bottom?

Looks like a right laugh!
Have to get up to Dalby one of the days!

Yeah the black gully climb.

Drop out of Dixons Hollow and take the switchbacks to the bottom fireroad. Turn right and follow it along until you get to a really bad cut up descent going off to your left. At the bottom of this, immediately turn right and head back up that gully climb which joins back onto the red just at the top.

Nice photos btw, and glad you enjoyed it.
On a further note, SingletrActionvolunteers are nearing completion of a really nice section of singletrack up at Crosscliffe which follows the side of the hillside and then will pop up somewhere near the black board section. For the eagle eyed amongst you, on the red section at White Cliffs, there is a preliminary mark out of a really nice technical black section, something which will be started on properly later this year (4foot rock drops with sweeping berms and possible slalomy/jumpy bits anyone?)

It might have been actually,can’t remember !!!!!!! It didn’t feel like you were in a centre thats for sure but it was definately signposted as black.

@mtbcol – yeah there you go,I knew a local would be along soon ! I think I did see the potential new section you were talking about – sounds quality.There has been some sterling work going on up there by all accounts – the section with the raised singletrack,very smooth & compacted with the optional bomb holes to the right was also a right laugh.Super fun to get some pace up & ride together on !!!

Its definitely the black. Most of the black is made up of the old red route before Dalby got loads of cash ploughed into it and the trail centre style trails were born.
There’s still plenty of good cheeky singletrack dotted about the red rout too, it’s just a matter of knowing where it starts and finishes to incorporate it into a ride 😉

Out of interest how busy was it on Sunday? I’ve been avoiding weekend riding due to the large number of trail users and have been riding midweek, but fancy a weekend ride/playabout this week 🙂

@mtbcol – got there about 10.00 & it looked like it was going to be rammed but once up on the trails we were only riding behind 2 other riders for most of the way around.I think this was probably due to us mixing it up with the red/black & stopping for cream tea at the cafe aswell.That cafe is quality & super well priced.With the sunshine all day it was like MTB nirvana !!!

Sweet, looks like a Saturday afternoon ride may be in order 😀
Aye Jingleby Cafe is outstanding – cream scones are to die for! 😀

The lass serving them wasn’t bad either… 😉